kleidsam

Behind a pink Altbau facade at Neusser Straße 123 in Düsseldorf-Unterbilk, kleidsam has been a women’s fashion staple since 2004. The idea behind it still holds today: every piece in the store should be a potential favourite, chosen with care rather than ordered off the peg. That idea comes from owner Sandra Dhingra herself.

Sandra studied textile business management and always wanted something of her own. When she ended up staying in Düsseldorf, she noticed a gap. The city had no shop where you could find a carefully selected piece that didn’t look like everything else. So she opened her own store. At times, she even ran two other shops alongside it, and she openly admits independent retail can be exhausting, but she still wouldn’t trade it for anything. Ask her about a garment, and you’ll quickly notice how much she enjoys talking to customers and sharing what she knows about fabrics and fit. For her, explaining where a piece comes from is simply part of the job. She is also well connected with other independent shop owners in the city.

Today kleidsam is a concept store. Womenswear shares the space with jewellery, candles and small gifts, all in the mid-price range. Colourful prints hang next to simple basics. One of the store’s best-known labels is King Louie from Amsterdam, known for its retro patterns, alongside Mademoiselle Yéyé’s vintage-inspired designs. What sets Sandra’s buying apart is loyalty. Rather than touring trade fairs every season to find the next new name, she has worked with most of her brands for years. She knows their fits, their quality and how their pieces hold up in everyday life. Over the past few years, she has been reworking the range step by step, asking her suppliers more questions about materials and production. Because clothing and smaller items share the shelves, it is just as easy to come in for a gift as for something to wear yourself.

Looking for a concept store in Düsseldorf where you can find a new dress, a pair of earrings, and a birthday present in one visit? Then kleidsam in Unterbilk is worth the trip. Unterbilk is also a good neighbourhood for a shopping afternoon: Lorettostraße, with its independent shops and cafés, is only a few minutes’ walk away. If you can’t make it in person, you can shop a selection of the range online as well. The current opening hours are listed on this page, and a chat with Sandra is reason enough to drop by.